Kocharyan’s arrest ‘unrelated to snap election’, says acting premier

14:40 • 09.12.18

The court order to return Robert Kocharyan to custody ran parallel to the campaign for the December 9 snap parliamentary election, Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said today, dismissing the reports that the two processes were interrelated.

“That criminal case was initiated long ago and is unrelated to this election. The process dates back to five months,” he told reporters in a polling station of Yerevan.

Asked to comment on Kocharyan’s earlier statement accusing him of masterminding the 2008 post-electoral events, Pashinyan noted that the indictment, issued back then, "does not suggest any evidence of bloodshed perpetrated by me". “The European Court of Human Rights is now publishing its judgements on the March 1 [criminal] case in an apparent move to demonstrate that the former authorities’ allegations were totally fabricated,” he said.

Pashinyan highlighted false evidence in the criminal case “aiming to cover up the military’s involvement in political processes, which caused the tragic death of 10 citizens of Armenia.”

Asked to comment on the chances of forming a coalition government after the election, the acting premier cited public opinion polls, which he said “reflect the population’s will, ruling out such a scenario.”